Time is not the only thing ticking
by inkr05
Summary: A dangerous gang on the streets after retribution leaves Sam and Gail trapped in a building under duress and forces them both to confront not only the demons they're trapped with but those inside... G/C S/A... rated T for torture and language
1. Chapter 1

"Gail. Gail stay with me. Come on Gail, fight it!" Sam struggled against the tape binding him to the chair's wooden frame. He slammed his back against the chair and squirmed as much as he could but the tape around his torso wouldn't budge.

Gail watched him swim in and out of focus as the pain took over her body. Her gaze drifted down to her hands which were now nailed to the table in front of her. Blood oozed out from around the foreign object and stained her wrists and the table around them. The pain was unbelievable but it provided some mercy as she felt herself lose consciousness and drift away.

Sam watched her head loll to one side as she passed. He wasn't sure if it was from the fain of the nails, the rounds of electrocution or the smell of burnt flesh. His pant leg chaffed his open burn and he once again clenched his teeth as spasms shot up his leg.

"Looks like she needs waking up" The deep, nasal voice came from behind him as the sound of the box whirring up and kicked in. Her head flew up and she stained her neck back crying out between gritted teeth. The cry turned into a whimper as the electricity's bite faded away.

"Hit him again!"

He heard the amperage being cranked up and waited for the inevitable shock. It came. His head flew back and roared through teeth gnashed together to stop himself from biting his tongue. The pain was indescribable as his muscles all contracted at the same time and his body felt like he was being burned and doused with acid simultaneously. The current stopped and he collapsed back down, panting hard, his eyes fogging up.

"I'm going to ask you one more time." The man's voice was quite, but he spoke with the assurance that this was clearly only his warm up with them if he did not get what he wanted. "The Vault... what is the code?"

Sam looked up at Gail who had a crazed look in her eye pleading him not too, a look that told him that if he gave up those numbers she would break out her restraints and throttle him herself. He leaned forward towards the monster and spat on the floor next to him.

"Go to hell, Jackass."

"Oh, Officer, I plan on taking you there myself."


	2. Chapter 2

48 Hours Earlier.

When Andy slumped into parade beside Traci, she knew something was up. Andy had called her late last night and slept on her couch no questions asked but as she sat with Leo at the breakfast table Traci had to push. After hearing the whole story about Luke's infidelity and betrayal it was difficult to remain seated. She hadn't been distraught last night, just tired and wanted to sleep, but now she was practically catatonic. Traci glanced over at Gail who nodded sympathetically in Andy's direction. Traci, under Andy's instruction to tell Chris that he had better find that receipt for his suit, told them all that the wedding, the relationship and anything to do with Luke Callaghan was over.

"Look sharp everyone!" Frank walked into the room pinning up a sheet of paper on the notice board as he went. "Three weeks ago, Narcotics pulled one of the biggest drug busts of the year hauling an estimated $ 4 million off the street." Applause rattled through the room, half heartedly as they waited for his 'but'.

"But, last night an officer from the narcotics unit was found tortured and murdered in his home. Word is it's the gang's revenge. Street violence is increasing. Let's find these killers and lock 'em up before they can kill anyone else. Any Questions?" He paused and surveyed the subdued room in front of him. "Alright then, Serve, Protect and get the scum off the street."

The day was slow for Chris and Dov. They started by patrolling the streets in a grid formation doubling back every half hour, between doughnut or hotdog breaks.

"You realise this is an incredibly unhealthy way to fuel our bodies. I mean, we could be trying veggie soups or apples but nope Mister Big boy has to have his sugar." Dov rattled on holding his belt and swaggering down the side walk.

"What's wrong with sugar?" Chris stared at him bemused.

"Oh nothing, just if you, y'know, want to stay in shape." Chris couldn't help but laugh at his scrawny companion. "Come on Dov, enjoy it. You just grumpy again 'cause you keep losing to Gail."

"Am not, and besides she gets more practise."

"How?"

"I'm sure she spends every minute she can upping her game in the vain hope she'll beat me. I'm just too focused on my work to be beaten." He pulled a very suave look and swept his hair back nodding at a group of ladies walking past. Chris didn't stop laughing until they reached the cruiser and their radio squawked.

"_Dispatch to all units: Shots fired and sounds of an explosion reported on Wilkson Boulevard."_

Dov grinned at Chris, "Time for action". He hit the siren and they blasted down the street.

For once, not that they had been partnered too many times; Sam let Gail drive the Cruiser as they crawled down the busy street. He surveyed the road ahead as the driver in the truck in front honked at the sedan in front of him. He enjoyed riding with Gail. Not that he would pass her up over Andy especially now that Luke was out of the picture, but she was comfortable with silence- passing the time staring coolly out of the windshield or making rude comments about passersby or gossiping about the barn. Her lack of tact for people she didn't like, Jo Rosati this week in particular, made the drive much more entertaining. However the last half hour she had seemed lost in thought as she tapped her thumbs softly on the wheel.

"Something on your mind Peck?"

"I was just thinking about what an idiot you are." Sam nearly choked on his own tongue.

"Excuse me?"

"You're an idiot about Andy." She said it so matter of factly Sam could only stare at her in amazement. She didn't stop; "Firstly, you let her walk straight into Callaghan's arms and did nothing to stop her. In fact you practically gave her to him..."

"There were rules Peck, I was her TO" he slumped back in his seat now waiting for the onslaught.

"That's beside the point, who gives a crap about the rules." She was sitting upright now, "Then she gets her heart torn in two by a man she thought she was in love with and all you can do is back off. You should be with her, consoling her, making everything better. Being her knight- in- fucking- body armour." She sat back deflated after her passionate speech.

"Wow" Sam sat in stunned silence. "That was...deep." Gail sighed and this time spoke softer,

"She has been madly in love with you since forever, we all know it, we're all waiting for the two of you to just jump each other and get on with it."

Sam, who was still fairly shocked, shook his head, "How do you know..."

"I'm a girl Swarek, so is she, we talk, and on occasion she isn't very sober and is in hysterics crying that she's now damaged goods and that she can't trust anyone after being cheated on." She noticed his fists clench as she brought up the very tender topic of Luke's infidelity.

Sam paused for a moment as the atmosphere in the car tensed.

"I'm waiting."

"What?" Gail looked at him. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'm waiting for when she's ready. I don't think she's damaged goods. I think she's the opposite and I don't want to hurt her more or blow what chance I've got by moving too quickly for her. I'll wait for her, as long as it takes." Gail could see the truth in his eyes and had to look away from the intensity.

"Well good. Just so you know, I've been rooting for the two of you since the beginning." He glanced her way and saw a smile forming on her lips. He grinned and relaxed into his seat before his tone turned serious.

"You tell anyone about our powwow Peck and you won't ever drive this car again."

"Yes sir." she replied coolly.

Out of the blue, a large black truck peeled across 4 lanes of traffic and side scraped along the column of cars.

"What the..." Gail reacted faster than Sam did, hitting the siren with one hand and jerking the steering wheel with the other. She hit the shoulder lane at 60mph and sped after the mad driver. She switched lanes, indicating with the flick of her wrist. Horns honked but were drowned out by blaring sirens and the screeching of tires as she drifted across the intersection and rammed the accelerator to the floor. Sam watched as the speedometer increased but she never lost control of the car. They were gaining on the unknown madman and pulled up alongside him.

The truck slammed into the cruiser door so hard Sam practically flew out of his seat. Gail returned the favour by slamming him back and the truck swerved away trailing dark skid marks on the road which were quickly left behind. The truck came in for one last blow to crush the coppers into the railing as Gail stamped on the brakes and he soared over the railing into the grassland beside the road. Sam swung open his door gun drawn, Gail mirroring him.

"Police," he shouted, "step out of the vehicle slowly, hands where I can see them."

The door opened an inch. Gail's hands tightened on her gun. Another inch and then they blew off with a deafening boom as the entire car exploded. Flames reached the sky as metal and shrapnel littered the road and cruiser. Sam and Gail were blown off their feet; he ricocheted off the car and hit the tarmac as the acrid black smoke leaked from the windows.


	3. Chapter 3

The tarmac scraped across his cheek as Sam hit the ground and reflexively curled into a ball breathing hard. Shrapnel hit the road with loud clashes as smoke poured out of the truck's cab. Sam reached into his seat and pulled out the radio.

"1504 to dispatch, over"

"This is dispatch to 1504, what's the problem?"

"Car explosion on Route 12 coming out of crescent, one confirmed dead and possibly more, requesting back up."

"Dispatch to 1504, backup's on its way." he clicked the receiver back into place on the dashboard and looked over at Gail who was now standing up studying the deserted road in front of them littered with remnants of the car in the nearby ditch. Although it was unlikely that whoever had been driving the truck or anyone else inside was still alive he approached the truck cautiously with his gun drawn. Gail followed him slowly down the bank and looped around to the other side of the car. The driver was sitting in his seat, well, the charcoaled remains of him. The body was no longer recognisable, his skin was a dark brown reddish colour and his hands had been seared to the steering wheel. Sam glanced at Gail who was noticeably paler but was keeping it together, mostly by clamping her mouth shut.

"First burn vic?" She nodded, not trusting herself to open her mouth and throw up all over the grass.

"No car burns like this naturally." Sam commented as he ducked under the car and looked at its belly. It was scorched and a little roughed up but looked normal. The flat bed on the other hand was clearly the focus point of some kind of accelerant or explosive.

"There must have been something in the back" Gail had recovered her speech as she nodded at the drawn over cover of the flat bed which had been mostly melted. Sam reached over to pull it back but she stopped him,

"You might disturb the evidence!" Seeing the expression Sam made she added, "And you might burn your hand which would force you to let me drive for the rest of the time. He shook his head.

"Where did you learn to drive that way anyway?" Gail grinned at him.

"Rebellious childhood." Sam snorted and imagined a young Peck joyriding.

The sounds of sirens filled the air and a trail of cars appeared, weaving in and out of the cones left to preserve the treads left by the car chase. Sam waved at Oliver and Noelle to join them.

"Wow, hell of a chase Sammy. See you haven't lost your touch." Sam just smiled and said,

"It was all Peck's work." Gail shrugged her shoulders and Noelle nodded her approval.

"There's only one downside at being good at this." The older woman said to Gail.

"What?" She, Sam and Oliver said together; "Paperwork."

They were bustled out of the way as crime scene techs moved in to swarm over the truck and dead body.

Traci sat at her desk in the squad room running down searches on the members of the gang with outstanding warrants. Each person made her feel worse than the one before. The Woodstock gang seemed to have a requirement from its members of murder, assault, drug possession and grand theft auto. The only consolation to her was that they weren't rapists. None of their victims, of the few females that had been killed had been raped in anyway. In fact one man, the gang's second in command, a particularly brutal murderer by the name of Terry Windlock had even killed a serial rapist when in prison. He had escaped 4 months ago and was rumoured to be hiding out with his cousins- the Woodstock Windlocks. She sighed and moved on, filling in the update of his presumed location which an informant of Jerry's had reported. She glanced over at Andy who was staring fixedly at her screen, her fingers poised on the keyboard. Traci waved a hand in front of her face,

"Uhh, earth to Andy." She snapped out of it and spun to look at her friend.

"Yes?"

"You looked a little spaced. Actually you've been spaced since you got in this morning." Andy slumped back in her chair and absentmindedly drummed her fingers on the desk.

"What's up, why can't you focus?" Traci leaned an elbow on the desk as she gave her friend her undivided attention.

"I dunno. Everything just seems a bit crazy at the moment."

"Luke or Sam" Andy smiled,

"You know me so well" Traci beamed and said,

"Well, I have the perfect remedy for a lonely single, beautiful woman."

"Let me guess; it involves Men, booze, dancing and a lack of clothing." Traci laughed.

"Ah you know me so well."

"Fine. I'm up for it."

"Excellent" Traci swung back to her screen. Now all she had to do was convince Swarek to go clubbing with her, _perhaps not so well thought through..._

By the time that Chris and Dov had returned to the Barn after their false alert during patrol, most of the people had come in and their shift was nearly over. Chris looked up to the office where Gail, Swarek, Shaw and Noelle were sitting talking to Best. Swarek was being attended to by the medic who was permanently attached to the barn. He stopped as Best was in heated discussion with them. Dov, who had been mid rant about the ridiculousness of kids prank calling the cops and why they were dispatched because of cars backfiring and was about to start his Panic in America Speech when Chris stopped moving- he followed his friend's gaze and saw the crowded office.

"Hmph, they look like they had more fun than we did."

"Yeah" Chris murmured distractedly. They joined Andy and Traci who were getting coffee and Dov launched into his relay if the day's events.

"Sounds like fun" Traci commented with raised eyebrows.

"You guys know why Gail and Swarek are up there?" They shook their heads and peaked around the corner to spy into the office.

"Looks like he's pretty banged up." Andy whispered

"Please, he's got a scratch" Dov said, "Chris gets more hurt trying to fix the dishwasher."

"Hey, it was slippery"

"Sshh!" Traci shushed them as the door opened and the medic left, Sam and Oliver followed him out with Gail tailing. Andy approached Sam and Oliver immediately muttered something about filing and the bathroom, neither of the other two caring.

"What happened?" She said concern evident in her voice as she reached up and her fingers ghosted across the gauze strips above his eyebrow.

"Nothing, just a bump with the tarmac" His voice had dropped to a low murmur and everything else in the room seemed insignificant as he stared into her wide brown eyes.

Traci watched from across the room as Andy talked to Sam, their body language practically screamed intimacy. She sighed and rested her elbow on her folded arm sipping her coffee.

"It's tragic" Gail sighed as she joined her. Traci nodded and turned to face Gail.

"What happened out there?" Chris came up behind Gail and Dov completed the little ring as Gail recounted the Morning, leaving out her discussion with Swarek out of respect.

"Whoa" Chris said admiringly as he stared at her adoringly. She smiled at him,

"It was pretty cool, up until the burned out body. That wasn't so much fun." They all grunted their agreement and simultaneously drank their coffee.

"Parade room now." Best thundered across the Squad room as he walked down the stairs to his office with the chief of forensics.

They filed in and sat at the desks and the room filled with people.

"As you may have heard, there was a car explosion this morning caused by a flat bed carrying some kind of explosive. Tim?"

Tim Bundy, head of Forensics stepped up to the front. He was 50ish with greying hair and thick, stylish glasses.

"The flat bed tested positive for explosive residue similar to that of Nitro-glycerine, a highly unstable and reactive liquid. Now, the main use of said liquid is in explosives such as dynamite and propellants. It is likely, judging by the composition of this explosive that it was Gelignite, a jelly like material that contains nitrocellulose which is dissolved in nitro-glycerine and mixed with wood pulp and sodium nitrate. Clearly we have no idea what it was going to be used for however judging by the amount used in the truck it must have been for something big." Bundy finished and stepped down as Frank continued.

"Clearly this is a great accomplishment to have stopped whatever it was going to be used for but shipments transferred by the driver, who was a known associate of the Woodstock's, have been happening all week, therefore it is likely that there is plenty more of the Gelignite. An operation is being put into place to infiltrate the Gang and find out what is going on. Detective Barber..."

Jerry Barber followed Tim Bundy's route and began by pointing at one of the pictures on the wall. Traci recognised him immediately, it was...

"Terry Windlock second in command to the big man himself, Windlock escaped from prison 4 months ago and according to several informants has been hiding out in the industrial sector down town. There are many buildings under construction and it's rumoured that the Woodstock's have taken up residence. We plan on entering two people as substitutes for our dead chauffeur in the morgue. Its gonna take some work but we believe it the only way to clear out this gang." Frank once again picked up.

"Peck, Swarek, McNally, Williams, Epstein, Diaz, Shaw and Nash remain behind. Everyone else is dismissed." Sam moved forward as people left the room, he brushed shoulders with someone and he threw an apology over his shoulder before he stopped. It was Callaghan. Son of a bitch shot him daggers and Sam felt his fists clench at the disgraced detective.

"Sammy, come on" Oliver grabbed him by the arm and forcibly dragged him away from the potential beating Callaghan would receive if he left his friend there.

"Swarek?" Frank raised his eyebrow at the dark expression on the officer's face. Sam shook his head and Frank continued.

"We've decided to use this unit to complete the op. We've chosen Swarek and peck to fill in for the dead guy in the morgue." Oliver and Noelle nodded in their approval of his choice. "Peck, you've had to most experience so far with undercover work and Sam's an expert so you'll be in safe hands." Sam grinned and took the briefing pack that Frank held out to him. The rest of the unit is to be part of a surveillance team. This gang is not old school so there's no way we can just slip in mikes and cameras so we're going to use a full audio system from surrounding buildings once we know which one is their nest. The phone on the guy in the morgue miraculously survived and we're waiting for the text with the address. Any questions? Swarek and Peck go over the files confirm everything and get ready. Everyone else report to the tech's lab in an hour for a demonstration and detailed run through of the details for the operation.

AN: Sorry about the excessive talking by Best but it's all necessary. This is also a disclaimer to the characters which I unfortunately do not own. Enjoy this chapter and please review. And a brief warning that I'm not very reliable with updates but bear with me.


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